The musicians announced today that they've rejected the latest contract proposal from management and urged the reconsideration of a mediator's independent proposal.

The
board says a contract must be signed by Sept. 15 if the orchestra is to
keep its renowned music director, Osmo Vanska, and practice for upcoming
concerts at Carnegie Hall in November.

"Osmo
may have to leave," Richard Davis, chairman of the orchestra's
negotiating team, told the Star Tribune editorial board on Tuesday. "The
board is resolved to know that that is a
risk. Carnegie, the opening of the hall. All three may have to fall."

Davis, board chairman Jon Campbell and CEO Michael Hensongave
the bleak assessment on the same day that they released an analysis by
AKA | Strategy of New York that said the orchestra may face budget
shortfalls even worse than those already cited by management.

The number they'd already cited was $2.2 million.

"It's not a time for threats," Blois Olson, spokesman for the musicians, said on Thursday. "It's a time
for solutions. And a well-measured, thought-out solution has been put
on the table, and the management rejected it."

In July, George Mitchell, the former U.S. senator from Maine, agreed to
step in and help settle what has been called the longest labor dispute in
our orchestral history. The musicians say they'd be back to work by now
if the orchestra board had accepted Mitchell's own proposal, the details
of which were not available.

Under the new proposal offered by the board, the musicians
would earn the same pay they did before the lockout, for a period of
two months. If no agreement could be reached within that time, every
musician would receive a 25 percent cut. The average salary would
fall from $135,000 to $102,200 for the next two years.

Previously, the orchestra board had
offered to cut salaries between 22 and 40 percent, on an individual
basis. The average salary would have come out to $89,000, but it was
rejected and the musicians were locked out of Orchestral Hall on
October 1, 2012.

The new proposal mirrors the old proposal in at least one aspect: Both include 10 weeks of
paid vacation and up to 26 weeks of paid sick leave.

-- Email Jesse Marx at jmarx@citypages.com or follow him on Twitter at @marxjesse

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I've been going to see the orchestra since it was the Minneapolis Symphony and Antal Dorati was the conductor.But people, it's time for some 'tough love'.Orchestra members, you've been out too long. You are not offering solutions, only refusing management offers without submitting counter-offers. As more and more people realize that each of you has been making over $120,000 a year, it's becoming 'really difficult' to sympathize with your plight. Your audience numbers have been decreasing yearly. You don't seem to have any ideas about any outreach programs or other ideas to get more people to your concerts; you don't seem to have any ideas about 'anything' other than 'give us more money'. You are your own 'product'. In this era, you need to learn some self-marketing skills.You people need to check your egos at the door and come back to management with a viable offer. Yes, you have some brilliant artists in the orchestra, but if there 'is' no orchestra, and if a world-class cellist is alone, playing in the woods, does anyone hear it?It would be very sad to see the orchestra go away, but if the orchestra 'did' go away, do you know what would happen???.... the same thing that happened with the Minneapolis Lakers and the Minnesota Northstars........there would be outrage for about 6 months, grumbling for another 6 months, then you would be out of the news and out of everyone's minds, and please bear in mind, the Lakers and the Northstars were more popular than you will 'ever' be! So where will you go??? There are a very limited number of chairs available in other orchestras. If you're a string player, you can't go to Europe; they much prefer European-trained players to American-trained players.In this day and age, being 'special' isn't good enough anymore. You are showing every other orchestra in the country how 'not' to be an orchestra. This is a 'business', and however 'special' you all are, you are not paying your way. The luxurious days of your being able to simply 'be the artist' are gone. 'You' as an 'individual', need to be a business. Now get off your high horses and go back to work.

"Under the new proposal offered by the board, the musicians would earn the same pay they did before the lockout, for a period of two months. If no agreement could be reached within that time, every musician would receive a 25 percent cut."

The problem with this is that it leaves the board no incentive to come to any sort of later agreement. They just have to refuse any attempt at negotiation until the two months are up.